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Spring 2007

Maison Martin Margiela

Designer: Martin MargielaFounded: 1988, ParisOwned By: Renzo Rosso, NEUF GroupHistory: The reclusive Belgian designer studied alongside Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts; worked briefly for Jean Paul Gaultier; and launched his deconstructivist, anti-iconic womenswear in 1988. Menswear followed 11 years later and has since attracted a cultlike following big enough to support boutiques (each painted almost entirely white) in several countries. In 2002, Diesel founder Renzo Rosso bought a majority stake in the house of Margiela, which launched a well-received home line in 2009.The Look: High-concept fashion that (usually) keeps a low profile